Difference between Python and Ruby

Python is a high-level, general-purpose programming language. It is used in website development, machine learning, and creative software technology. Guido Van Rossam created Python in the Netherlands in 1989. Python became public in 1991. New programmers are typically advised to learn Python.

Ruby is an interpreted, open-source, object-oriented language. It was developed by Yukihiro Matsumoto in the year 1995. Ruby is an object-oriented language, hence everything is an object. OOP gives developer projects a modular structure.

Read through this article to find out more about Python and Ruby and how they are different from each other.

What is Python?

Python is an object-oriented, dynamic, interpreted language. High-level data structures, dynamic type, and binding make it a strong choice for Rapid Application Development and as a scripting or glue language.

Python's syntax is straightforward. Its focus on simplicity reduces program maintenance costs. Python modules and packages help divide up projects and reuse code. The Python interpreter and extensive standard library can be downloaded for free on all major platforms. They're also free.

Python helps programmers do more. Since there's no compilation, editing, testing, and debugging becomes easy and quick. Python programmers may resolve errors quickly because segmentation faults never occur from defects or improper input. The interpreter throws an exception if an error occurs.

Unhandled exceptions cause the interpreter to print a stack trace. A sourcelevel debugger lets you view local and global variables, evaluate expressions, set breakpoints, and more. Python's debugger shows how well it can examine itself. Adding print statements to the source code is a rapid technique to detect program issues. This rapid loop of edit, test, and fix works wonderfully.

Features of Python

Some of the prominent features of Python are listed below −

• Simple to learn − Python has a simple structure, few keywords, and a clear syntax. This makes it easy for the student to learn quickly.

• Easy to understand − Code written in Python is easier to read and understand.

• Easy to maintain − The source code for Python is pretty easy to keep up with.

• A large standard library − Most of Python's library is easy to move around and works on UNIX, Windows, Mac.

• Portable − Python can run on a wide range of hardware platforms, and all of them have the same interface.

Example Python Code

Take a look at the following sample Python code −

n1=int(input("Enter First Number:"))
n2=int(input("Enter Second Number:"))

if n1 > n2:
   print("Biggest Number is:",n1)
else:
   print("Biggest Number is:",n2) 

In this example, we are applying an "if-else" condition to identify the biggest number between two numbers.

• We have used the input() function to take input from the user through keyboard. In Python, the return type of input( ) is string only, So we have to convert it explicitly to the type of data which we require. In our example we have converted to int type explicitly through int() function.

• print() is used to display the output.

Output

On execution, this sample code will produce the following output −

Enter First Number:10
Enter Second Number:20 
Biggest Number is: 20 

What is Ruby?

Ruby is open-source. Scripting languages don't directly interact with computer hardware like C and C++. An interpreter reads a text file and creates code. These programs are procedural, thus they're read in reverse order. Object-oriented languages decompose code into objects that can be manufactured and deployed on demand. These components can be reused in other parts of the application or other software.

Ruby can be used to construct desktop programs, static websites, data processing services, and automation systems. Web scraping, crawling, web servers, and DevOps are supported. Rails' features help you create databasedriven web programs more efficiently.

Ruby on Rails uses pre-written Ruby code for communication, file management, database connectivity, and more. It handles tedious activities so you may focus on problem-solving. DRY, or Don't Repeat Yourself, is one of the Rails framework's fundamental ideas.

Features of Ruby

Here is a list of some prominent features of Ruby −

• Ruby is a real object-oriented programming language.

• Ruby is a scripting language for servers that is similar to Python and PERL.

• Common Gateway Interface (CGI) scripts can be written in Ruby.

• Ruby can be added to HTML.

• Ruby's syntax is clear and easy to understand, which makes it easy for a new developer to learn quickly.

• Ruby's syntax is like that of a lot of other programming languages, like C++ and Perl.

Example Ruby Code

Take a look the following sample Ruby code −

puts "Enter First Number"; 
num1=gets;
puts "Enter Second Number";
num2=gets;
if num1>num2
   puts num1+"Is greater";
else
   puts num2+"is greater";
end 

In the above example, we are comparing two numbers and identifying the greater number using if-else statement.

Here,

• puts − Used for displaying the output

• gets − Used to store the input from user to variable.

Output

On execution, this sample code will produce the following output −

Enter First Number
10
Enter Second Number
20
20
is greater

Difference between Python and Ruby

The following table highlights the major differences between Python and Ruby −

Basis for comparison	Python	Ruby
Basic Difference	Python is a high-level programming language.	Ruby is a programming language that may be used to create opensource web applications.
Inheritance	Python support multiple inheritance	Ruby support single inheritance.
Flexibility	Python emphasizes simplicity. Python has only one way to do something. This makes Python code less flexible, but also more readable.	Ruby follows Perl's notion of various methods to complete a task. Ruby is flexible because there are many ways to approach a problem.
IDEs	Python supports multiple developing environments	Ruby Supports only Eclipse IDE.
Library support	Python supports a huge amount of library.	As compared to python, ruby supports very less amount of libraries
Web frameworks	Django is a python based web framework focused on web development	Ruby on Rails is a frame work of ruby.
Variables	In python a keyword del is used which helps to delete a set variables.	It is not possible to reset a variable once it has been assigned a value. As long as it remains in scope, it will continue to be displayed in the symbol table
Anonymous functions	Python supports only larger amount of lambda functions.	Blocks, procedures, and lambdas should all be supported.

Conclusion

Python and Ruby are so similar to one another in many ways that it can be challenging to differentiate between the two programming languages. Both of these languages are rather advanced, despite having relatively straightforward syntax. Both languages exhibit a high level of proficiency with web applications, in addition to a wide variety of other uses.